New kitten

I just got my girl cleopatra. From a shelter. She doesn't want any dry food so I went and got some wet kitten and the pet store told me to get k mar. Supplement to add to her food. He said a lot of shelters lie about how old the kittens really are and she would need it. Also. She doesn't seem to know what a litter Box is. My previous cats. I witness there birth and where litter trained by mother and only wanted dry food

Are you here in the US? Disgraceful that a shelter would let a kitten out the door in such shape.

Mixing a little kitten milk replacer in with some wet food sounds like a good idea. I'd also stick with wet food only if you can afford it. It's much healthier for cats in the long run. Also get a bag of Dr. Elseys Kitten Attract Litter. Fill the box with it, and then slowly add regular litter and mix it to transition her. Dr. Elsey's works. If it doesn't she may be too young to be away from mom.

Post a few pictures, and we may be able to estimate her age.

How do you post a picture. I can tell you she is 1 pound. Fits in my hand

Hi!

A 1 pound kitten, if the weight is accurate and if she appears well fed should be about 4 weeks of age, too young to be taken from her mother without good cause.  At this age she should have  wet food, even a bit soupy if it helps her, so mixing KMR or water with her wet food is good, and it should be a very mild wet food like a chicken based food.  She should eat as much as she wants 4-5 times a day.

Place her in the litter box after every meal and make sure she can actually get into the box.  She should be trained in short order, but if she isn't some of us here and certainly people who monitor the behavior forum can give you a more formal training regimen.

As she approaches 6-8 weeks she will need a de-worming protocal as well as a vaccination schedule that starts at 8 weeks, and she should get a vet visit soon at least for a baseline evaluation and a spay appointment.

Given her likely young age, if she develops diarrhea, this could be life threatening - do not wait for us to tell you to go to a vet.

Do you have paperwork for her that proves her age?  Did they offer and post-adoption follow up?

Good inks below:

http://www.kitten-rescue.com

http://www.kitten-rescue.com/kitten_feeding_schedule.html

To post a photo click reply and then hover your mouse over the icons above the text writing area. To the left of the center most icon you will get a message that says "insert image" when you hover over the right icon.   Click it and then click "upload files"

Best

Stephen

What shelter did you get her from? To upload a photo click on the icon above where you are typing. It looks like a picture. Choose a picture of her and Viola!

I agree with what @@stephenq said about feeding her. I do highly reccomend the Dr Elsey's Cat Attract litter. It will help a lot with getting her to go to the litterbox herself eventually.

She looks absolutely tiny. Are her eyes still blue? That can sometimes be a marker of age.

Is there any way the shelter would let you put her back with her mom for a few more weeks. She doesn't look almost 8 weeks old to me. Maybe they made a mistake on the date.

She may not be able to go poopie on her own accord, i.e. you may need to stimulate her. There are many articlescin the kitten section on how to do that. She may also be constipated, and if so you should mix some canned pumpkin (plain canned pumpkin) in with the food kmr mixture.


Are you in the US? You really should consider putting her back with her mother temporarily. She'll end up being a much better behaved, more balanced kitty if you do.

I called the shelter and they haven't called me back. I will bring her to the vet tomorrow

Are you in the United States? I can't believe the shelter let a cat go that early.

Yes. I'm in USA. Chicago

Get her to the vet.  Ask him/her to show you how to stimulate and to bottle feed, if necessary.  Get canned kitten food for her and add the KMR (kitten milk replacement) to it to water it down some so it's the consistency of thin oatmeal.  She'll be able to lap it up.  Fancy Feast makes a decent kitten food, but my favorite kitten food for little ones is Royal Canin, which can usually be found in pet stores.  I think she's much too young for dry food unless you completely water it down.  Keep showing her how to use the litter box and she'll catch on, but you're probably going to have many failed attempts, so be prepared and invest in some enzymatic cleaner or make your own by using vinegar, water, and baking soda.

Please let us know what you find out at the vet's today!

Hi

In the unlikely event the shelter you got her from was Paws in Chicago, (http://www.pawschicago.org/) please let me know.

Thanks

Stephen

stephanietx said:

Get her to the vet.  Ask him/her to show you how to stimulate and to bottle feed, if necessary.  Get canned kitten food for her and add the KMR (kitten milk replacement) to it to water it down some so it's the consistency of thin oatmeal.  She'll be able to lap it up.  Fancy Feast makes a decent kitten food, but my favorite kitten food for little ones is Royal Canin, which can usually be found in pet stores.  I think she's much too young for dry food unless you completely water it down.  Keep showing her how to use the litter box and she'll catch on, but you're probably going to have many failed attempts, so be prepared and invest in some enzymatic cleaner or make your own by using vinegar, water, and baking soda.

Please let us know what you find out at the vet's today!

Click to expand...

I agree with @stephanietx on having your vet show you how to stimulate her bowels. You may want the vet to make sure she isn't constipated as well.

It's going to take a little extra effort from you to ensure your kitty grows up healthy and happy.

Spend some time in the behavior forum to see the proper way to socialize her.

I have appointment today.

stephenq said:

 
Hi

In the unlikely event the shelter you got her from was Paws in Chicago, (http://www.pawschicago.org/) please let me know.

Thanks

Stephen

Click to expand...

I'm curious too... Did you get the cat from PAWS in Chicago? Some of the google reviews for PAWS are good, and some are downright disturbing. 

No it was wright way in des plaines. I went to vet he thinks she's 6 to 8 weeks old small bit healthy. A little sneezing and eye infection on antibiotics 2 a day for a week. Brought a stool sample. She's so tiny. But spunky. Cries when she loses track of me. Se relieved she's healthy

Good! I'm glad. Is she taking to the litter ok? Going by herself?

So far so good. Doesn't go much but uses the box.

Good job getting her to the vet!  Did you get her some canned food?  Did the vet say if she was constipated or anything?